Record 11 Jayhawks earn Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas baseball team saw a record 11 members of its program recognized by the Big 12 Conference as the league office unveiled its 2018 Academic All-Big 12 Baseball Team Tuesday afternoon.
All 11 Jayhawks were named to the First Team with junior left fielder Devin Foyle (sport management), senior catcher Tanner Gragg (finance) and senior first baseman Owen Taylor (sport management) earning repeat honors.
“I want to compliment our academic advisor (assistant athletics director) Glenn Quick, he does a great job with our players,” head coach Ritch Price. “He puts countless hours in with our guys and we expect them to be successful in every aspect of being a student-athlete. That encompasses academics, which is a huge priority in our recruiting process. We want guys who want to graduate from this great University and represent our program and athletic department in a first-class manner after graduation.”
Joining the aforementioned trio is senior pitcher Casey Douglas (sport management), senior righty Jon Hander (finance), senior righty Brandon Johnson (communication studies), sophomore shortstop Benjamin Sems (architecture & design), junior infielder Blake Shinkle (information systems), sophomore pitcher Gabriel Sotomayor (business), redshirt-freshman righty Jonah Ulane (finance) and sophomore hurler Ryan Zeferjahn (business).
The 11 Jayhawks accounted for 15.5 percent of the 71 first-team members, with Baylor leading all squads with 13 first-team distinctions.
To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 20 percent of their team’s scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
Kansas wraps up its regular season with a three-game conference showdown against Oklahoma May 17-19 at Hoglund Ballpark, before a single contest against Western Illinois on May 20.
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